Germany

US Military: German Plane Crash in Northern Iraq Confirmed

US military sources have confirmed that a small German plane en route to Iraq from Azerbaijan has crashed in northern Iraq.

"I can confirm it was a civilian plane and that the plane crashed," the spokesman said.

Earlier Friday, the German Foreign Ministry announced that a German-owned civilian plane had gone missing as it flew to Kirkuk from Azerbaijan's capital, Baku. German police said five Germans -- two pilots and three passengers employed by a German firm -- and an Iraqi were on board.

The plane left Munich on Tuesday and traveled via Hungary to Baku.

Police spokesman Hans-Dieter Kammerer said the plan was for it to continue to Sulaimaniyah or Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Thursday.

Kameran Ahmad, director of Sulaimaniya airport, told Reuters he believed the aircraft had crashed in mountainous northern Iraq. "We have no information where the plane fell. The search for it is continuing,"

"We lost communication at around midnight and we've been searching for it ever since," Ahmad said.